Bigotry exposed.
I am very critical of Australian wine. Perhaps that needs rephrasing, I am very critical of the Australian wine drinkers perceive Australian wine in a global context. It is not a wines fault that an individual claims it is world-class having never experienced the same variety from another country.
It mostly happens with Burgundy. Someone will claim that this Yarra Valley Pinot is so amazing it might be compared to Burgundy. Really? You have tried a Domaine Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche Grand Cru and your Yarra Pinot Noir shares the same qualities? I am being facetious, but the reality is, most patriotic Australian consumers are making these claims without ever having tried the very wines they are making comparisons with.
The problem goes beyond Burgundy. While Australia makes incredible, uniquely Australian expressions of Shiraz, it stands as world-class in its own right, not as a comparison to Côte-Rôtie. As for Australian Cabernet, it sits in a strange middle ground. It does not enjoy the individuality of Australian Shiraz, but it also does not fall in the might shadow of Burgundy in the same way Pinot Noir does. Perhaps it is out of favour? Pinot Noir is somewhat on-trend at the moment.
Australian Cabernet does have its fans, however, and those fans are just as parochial about its virtues as the Pinot Noir enthusiasts who insist their wines are the best in the world. The benchmark of Cabernet is left bank Bordeaux, and while Australia tends to explore single-variety wines, 100% Cabernet, and Bordeaux is most often a blend, comparisons are often made.
The question I ask myself is, do I judge Australian wines fairly? Is my judgment clouded by the agitation caused by navel-gazing Australian wine drinkers who constantly claim to be the best, having never experienced what they are making the comparison to?
This narrow-minded attitude toward Australian wine and its standing came to a head at a Bordeaux tasting held in 2015. Shell sliding into the mix a 2009 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon caught many of us, myself included, by surprise.
The theme was broad, Bordeaux wines between 2000 and 2010, a price limit of $300AUS. Wines were tasted blind. It is a fun format, you only know the wine you have provided. An options style proceeding takes place where the owner of the bottle leads the members through questions before each person guesses vintage and other particulars.
There was some quality, Bordeaux, on tasting that night, and I am kicking myself I did not get an image of all the wines together. It was my first real introduction to the great wines of Bordeaux, after all, this was a Burgundy Club. For me, I was most impressed with the Merlot dominant varieties, Australian Merlot is a disappointing affair.
While the Moss Wood did not enjoy the wine of the night, it was the star of the show. A humble Cabernet Sauvignon, one-third of the price of the Bordeaux it was set against. It more than held its own. Most guessed it as Cabernet, a few declared it New World, but no one at the table suggested that it did not sit proudly amongst its international peers.
This wine changed my view on Australian Cabernet. But I am not convinced entirely. This is one of Australia’s best, some would argue the best, and we were not consuming the best of Bordeaux by any means.
Looking back, I started to become open to the idea that Australian wine might be able to produce wines that sit with some of the great wines of the world. That lasted a week. My old prejudice returned when I went to dinner in Melbourne and saw on the wine list an Australian Cabernet that ‘could sit amongst Bordeaux Premier Cru’s – 1855’.
